Gingercake

Hello September!!

Boy oh Boy.  I can't remember the last time I went a whole month without blogging.  It's true that regular blogging brings on more blogging but now I feel like I have to make a huge long post to catch up.  But a small blog post is a start to get back in the groove so here we go!

We had a 2 week lake vacation which was wonderful.  I took lots of instagram pictures!  Here are a few...

It was so nice and relaxing.  A little colder than I would have liked but still a great time!  Hopefully more catching up later in the week!

Another Spring Break Adventure

Last year we went down to the Smokey Mountains but this year we stayed a little closer to home and took the educational route.  Washington DC is only about 5 hours away from us and we have friends that live close to the city.  We had a great time!  I will admit that parking is tough and the METRO is super expensive for a subway, but once you get on the Mall, the DC experience is fantastic.

Our ambitions we pretty toned down- Travis and I aimed for only a couple of spots on each of the 2 days we were there.  This strategy made everything less stressful.  It was hard to see all those big and beautiful museums and not even attempt to go inside (we did brave the air and space museum but it was super crowded and we only stayed about an hour), but it would have been a nightmare to try and drag them through the lines and crowds.

One of the reasons for the crowds was it is cherrry blossom season.  Due to the cold weather, the trees were only in bud but we did get to see these beautiful Japanese magnolias in bloom.  They looked like heaven after such a long winter!

When asked what their favorite thing about DC was, the kids all agreed that they loved playing in the reflecting pond at the national scuplture garden.  Travis loved the Lincoln Memorial and although I loved it all, I think my favorite part was watching the kids crawl around on Albert Einstein...

And what about the baby?  It turns out almost 5 months is a great time to travel with a baby!  She was content in her stroller and loved all the sound and action.  I admit I was pretty nervous about how she would fare, but she did really well inspite of the interuption in her routine.

We spent 2 days in DC and then traveled back up to Pennsylvania and went to Hershey Park.  What a great park!

I can't handle roller coasters so I was happy to stroll the baby around while Travis and the "big" kids went on the rides.  Hershey park is only open on the weekends right now and have special springtime rates.  The weather was great and the crowds were pretty minimal.  

Did you go anywhere for Spring break?  Do you have any recommendations for next year?  The kids are hoping we take a little trip each year and I am game!  Hope you all are finally enjoying Springtime!

Beachy Tunic in Voile

Remember when I made this pretty golden tunic for Anne?  While I was at the beach a few weeks ago, I got some pictures of her wearing it.  I love the color on her and she looked so pretty with all her sun kissed freckles (you wouldn't believe the sunscreen we go though with her!)

We had a lovely time in South Carolina.  Lots of time in the pool and just exploring the beach.  We went into Charleston once during the week but it was the rainy day and I didn't get much time to explore.  The beach was much easier for the kids to play in than the Outer Banks, NC beaches we usually go to although not quite as pretty.

While on the beach we found some treasures...

How is your summer vacation?  Hard to believe it is half way over!!  Although I admit the adjustment to summer vacation is hard for me at first, at this point I love having all the kids home and just relaxing into our easy schedule.  The pregnancy is making me less productive but we all seem to like our slow pace!  

A new Patchwork Duffle

While on our beach vaction last week, the zipper on Elsie's duffel bag broke.  I knew it was only a matter time since it was a cheapy zipper.  The bag was one of my trials from when I created the pattern and instead of trying to replace the zipper, I thought it would be more fun to create a new bag!

I used my bag of yellow scraps and cut all pieces (that were big enough) to a 6" width.  This meant that the piece were all different heights but all were the same width.  This made for a more random and casual patchwork but made putting them together easier than having all completely different sizes.

Elsie and I both like how it turned out.  Yellow is a new favorite!  Happily, the chosen 6" width worked great for the side panels and the zipper section.  I made my own piping (more about that in the piped pot holders tutorial) and matched the handles with the same solid yellow.

The only troubles I had with this bag was my choice to use duck cloth for the lining.  I am having a love affair with duck cloth but this time I may have gone too far!  It was too thick at the zipper section and gave me fits.  If I were to do it again, I may do duck cloth for the nice shape it gives the bag but do the zipper section lining in a cotton.  

I did add a layer of cotton fusible interfacing to the main panels behind the patchwork.  I think it gave me a boost of confidence but wasn't really neccesary- i just felt like the patchowrk might be sturdier with it back there holding things together.

We are going to the beach again this coming week and then to my parents in Atlanta for the 4th of July.  I have to fit in all this travel before the new addition (a girl!!! due in Novemember) comes and makes getting around a challenge again.  I will probably be sticking close to home for the next couple of years!

The Make Your Getaway Duffel is on sale for only $4.50 until midnight tonight!  Remember to enter the discount code summer to get the deal.

Beachy Days

We have had a busy last few weeks.  School is done, Elsie had her 8th birthday (for which I made a pretty dress but still haven't taken pictures!) and now we are at the beach.  Phew!

This guy is loving his new shovel and not sharing it with anyone...

My husband's youngest brother is here from San Francisco with his beautiful girlfriend and all the little girls are in love...

My husband is persistant in his attempts to catch bluefish in the surf...

and these 2 oldest cousins fight and makeup even better friends than they were before...

National Parking with the Kids

Since we had NO snow days (truly a miracle) off from school this year, we had a break from school of 10 days.  That is pretty crazy for our school district and I took advantage by planning a trip south to see my parents for easter.  We decided to take our time on the way down and made several stops with our big destination being the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  

We stayed the night before in Gatlinburg which was crowded but really cute.  We got going pretty early and drove into the park at about 8:30.  This was great because although there were still lots of people around (turns out spring break in the smoky mountains is busy!!), we seemed to be ahead of most crowds for almost the entire day.  

After a stop at the visitor's center where we got maps, talked to nice park rangers, and watched a short nature movie about the park, we decided to take a short hike to Laurel Falls.

Elsie will earn her hiking badge for Brownies for this little excursion and I am hoping Anne will get one too for Daisies.  For some reason earning badges is a big motivator for kids!  These girls were serious hikers!  This hike was on a paved trail but it was longer than we expected and our 4 year old boy had to bring out his umbrella half way up the trail.  Not sure how this helped but somehow it worked to keep him going.

I was laughing but his big sisters did not like this move one bit!  "But it's not even raining and he looks WIERD!" they complained.

We finally got to the falls and they were really stunning.  A cool mist was blowing off the water and since there had been a huge rain the night before the water was fierce!!  We were all impressed and agreed the hike in was worth it.  

Next we made our way over to Cade's Cove.  The drive over to that section of the park was so beautiful and followed closely next the Pigeon River.  We took a break and the girls waded out into the water.  Cal does not like feeling cold and wet yet so he stayed on the shore with Mommy & Daddy.

 Finally we arrived at Cade's cove and I wished that I had packed a better lunch because we stopped to eat out meager snacks at the best picnic location- complete with more water to play in and fire pits and grills.  It would have been fun to have something good to cook up there!  

Cade's Cove really did take my breath away.  It is so beautiful and calming.  The gently rolling fields and then the dramatic rising mountians surrounding the pastures was just gorgeous.  No wonder these people didn't want to leave but were also adamant to protect the beauty of their land.

We stopped at the cabins and churches.  We saw a gravestone that had the man's name and then below it was engraved "murdered by confederate rebels".  Cade's Cove's commmunity was a pocket of Union Support during the civil war even though they lived deep in the southern United States.  It really made you imagine the independence of the people who lived in this beautiful place. 

The girls were interested and excited.  YES, they got tired when we had to walk far but they felt the excitement of visiting such a beautiful and natural place.  Travis and I also loved it.  I wished I had planned to have cold drinks and a better lunch but a mom can't always do everything perfectly, right???

Cal was still a bit young for really apprecaiting this adventure but he was a pretty good sport considering he is only 4!  We would stop to get out and by the end he looked at me like I was crazy.  He liked the water though and spend lots of times throwing rocks in there.

The loop we took was a small section of the park and we are all looking forward to going back someday.  What we did was great for kids though and it gave them a wonderful taste of what the national parks are about.  Enjoying the natural beauty of our country and supporting the efforts to preserve it.  Make the trip with your loved ones if you can!

After School Spring Walk

I did do a bunny craft at Anne's preschool this week but the pictures are so dark that I couldn't bear to do a whole blog post devoted to them.  They are adorable but preschool lighting is not the best!  You can see them here.

The spring weather here in Western PA has been really rainy and it's been hard to get out and enjoy.  Yesterday we had rain in the morning but the sun came out by the time Elsie got home from school so the kids and I took a walk (Cal & I) / bike ride (girls) to the creek close by our house.

 We have lived at this house for about 15 months now and I didn't discover this walk until early last summer.   It is so beautiful by the creek and I thought I would share this with you all since you got all those city shots last time!

You can only see this waterfall in the early spring before all the leaves come in.  It is a pretty steep hill- how in the world did all those daffodils get there??

Anne has learned to ride without training wheels recently.  The girls had a great time riding over since it is slightly downhill.  They were not so positive on the way back since at one point I was carrying both bikes, my camera, and dragging Cal along behind me.

The wild flowers in the woods are just starting to bloom.  Bloodroot is all along the road on this walk.  Easy for pictures and I love how happy and bright it is among all the dark stick and leaves.

When we got off the road and went down the path to the creek I saw this flower which after a little research I realized it is just trout lily unopened.

and the trillium are just starting to bloom too!  These have always been my favorite.

We set the bikes aside and went down to the creek.  It was pretty cold but the kids wanted to put their feet in the water.  Isn't that part of being a kid?  Wanting to put your feet in the water no matter the temperature?

Can you see where all this water play is headed?  They all fell in, in chronological order of their age.  Just for you to know, each consented to having their picture taken...

and finally,  although it took awhile and she didn't cry about it until we got home and saw that she had a scrape on her knee, even the big girl fell in...

The falls in the freezing cold water didn't seem to bother anyone too much...

At the end I wanted to be in a picture too!  I set the camera on a timer on a rock and here is the picture that we got...

 HA!  I did take another that was centered but this one is so much better.  That's a whole lot of crazy curly hair and you can see how Cal chopped off his bangs.  Now, most mom's may rush over to the hair salon and get that look taken care of pronto, but I am just gonna let it roll for awhile cuz I think it's pretty funny still.  

I am hoping to make this walk many times this spring and summer.  It's only about 10 minutes away.  Sometimes we bring a picnic snack and have stick races in the "rapids".  In the summer, the kids and I wear our bathing suits.  I love not having to get in the car and not having to make a big plan.   

 

A Fresh Start

Phew!  The Handmade Arcade is finally over.  I have to admit all that production sewing wasn't my bag.  Things went well- not awesome but well and I am happy to have the experience.  

Part of the reason I feel a little let down is that my focus is so different now than it was 16 months ago when I did this show before.  I like making patterns now and sewing for myself.   I loved seeing all the people looking and it was so fun to talk to people about my sewing.  It was so cool to see all the mothers and daughters, sisters and friends together.  I got a great feel for what people like to buy at these shows and I handed out almost all of my 250 postcards that I made.  People like the.... Crayon Folios!  Not a huge surprise on that one.  I made 15 and sold 15 but I could have made 30 and probably sold most of those too!  

My sister (pictured above!)came up from Atlanta to work the show with me.  It was a big help.  She owns part of a  store in Atlanta and was really helpful with display, organization, & talking up the products.  We want to do another show together and she will be in charge of merchandising, display, business cards, etc.  That would be HUGE for me since I get so focused on my sewing and creating that the organization is an after thought.   Accepting some help from my sister would be wonderful, especially since she is actually much more stylish than me in the first place! 

On Sunday we (the WHOLE family) took her to the airport.  On the way home we stopped at the Pittsburgh Incline.  It was so fun.  Sunday mornings are a great time to see your city tourist stops!  Almost no one was there and it was beautiful.  By some miracle, I remembered my camera.  But the only lens I had was the 50mm which I thought would be a mistake since you wouldn't be able to see the scenery but the pictures turned out great!  That 50mm lens is such a gem.

 WARNING!  HISTORY LESSON TO FOLLOW...  Sorry friends, I was a history major so you are going to get some info that I learned yesterday which I think is really interesting.

As some of you may know, Pittsburgh used to be a huge industrial city.  The big boom happened in the late 1800s and as so many people (mainly European Immigrants) moved to the city, housing became a big issue.  The city is situated in a valley and surrounded by 3 rivers.  The only place for the workers to live affordably was up above the steep hills surrounding the city- namely Mt. Washington.  They had to walk up and down the hills after exhausting long days of work in the factory.  The German immigrants suggested building an alpine incline like they had back home in the Alps to make the commute easier. 

 2 inclines were built here on Mt. Washington to help the workers get back and forth to work at the steel mills on the Monongahela River.  They are still used for people to commute to work who live up on Mt. Washington.  They are made on a pulley system-when one goes up, the other comes down so their own weight pulls them up and down the hill.  Genius!   

There are beautiful overlooks of the city on top of the hill.  The kids loved running around up there.  It seemed like the top of the world.

 

I kinda look like a bug in my movie star sunglasses, huh?

Here is a close up of my boy.  He loved looking at the city, the buses, the bridges, EVERYTHING!  Yesterday evening he used some kids craft scissors and cut those bands WAY back.  Happens to every family at least once, right?

On the way back down the incline, I took this pictures of the girls.  The lighting was so pretty & they are wearing some new headbands from a vendor I met at the Handmade Arcade.  Cute!

I can remember my Mom picking us up in the middle of the school day and taking us all to the Oakland Cemetery in downtown Atlanta.  It was such a treat to be tourists in our own town.  I had that same feeling yesterday.  I can't believe I have lived here 11 years and never done this fun outing before!   I'll have to be better about doing new things in the city AND bringing my camera along.

 

Vaction Bag has been a long time coming

Holy smokes I have been working on this sucker a long time.  I would make a version and then quit in disgust when i used up cute fabric on another sloppy not quite right bag.  Well it's finally right and I have to say it was worth all the frustration.  My trunk looked so bright and cute packed with these lovelies when we went to the beach a few weeks ago.  

Now it's time to write up the pattern.  Not my favorite part but it will be great to have it done and listed in the shop.   There will be a kid size (of course) and an adult size.  Here are more pictures from my "photo shoot" with Travis (aka Husband).

This last one I like but since it looks just like the photo for this, I'll have to get a little more creative.  Maybe even ask Jenny for some good ideas!